Quattrocchi no different
from Dawood: AdvaniWednesday, February 22,
2006 NEW DELHI: The Quattrocchi
issue rocked Lok Sabha on Wednesday with an angry opposition demanding
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's explanation over why two London bank accounts
of the Italian businessman, key accused in the Bofors pay-offs case, were
defrozen at CBI's behest.

Describing Ottavio Quattrocchi
as "no different a fugitive" than underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, leader
of the Opposition L K Advani asked Singh, who was present in the House,
why Government had a "soft corner" for the Italian.

Raising the issue during
Zero Hour, Advani termed as "misleading" statements coming from the Prime
Minister, Law Minister H R Bharadwaj and the CBI and wanted to know why
the accounts were defrozen when the investigating agency had submitted
to a local court that a red corner notice against Quattrocchi was still
in operation.

The agitated BJP members
along with Akali Dal, JD-U, Shiv Sena and BJD trooped into the well when
Government fielded Minister of State for Personnel Suresh Pachauri to respond
to opposition's onslaught.

Chanting slogans "Pradhan
Mantri jabab do" (Prime Minister should reply), they demanded that nothing
short of an explanation from him would do.Coming out strongly against
opposition tactics, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee observed "it is most unfortunate"
and "deliberate obstruction" of proceedings.

"I totally condemn the method
adopted (by the opposition)," Chatterjee said as he adjourned the House
nearly for two hours ahead of the lunch recess.

Some Congress members were
up on their feet when Advani referred to Quattrocchi as a person who does
not believe in the Indian law system and is a "friend of Sonia Gandhi's
family".

Wondering why the Government
has gone out of its way to get Quattrocchi's accounts defrozen, he said
no officer of the government like B Datta, Additional Solicitor General,
could go to London without permission of the Prime Minister.

Claiming that CBI was never
in favour of defreezing the accounts, he said the Prime Minister should
inform the House about who asked the agency to clear the way for Quattrocchi
to withdraw money from these accounts.

Advani asked why Government
had not gone in for appeal in the Supreme Court in the Rajiv Gandhi case
and Hinduja's case.

He sought to know who was
"misleading" the country -- the Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi, the Law Minister
or CBI Advani contended that while the Prime Minister said he was not aware
of the law officer going to London, the Law Minister held that there was
no evidence against Quattrocchi in the Bofors payoffs case and that the
accounts were defrozen at the request of CBI.

"It is for the Government
to answer", he said as the opposition insisted that the Prime Minister
should reply.

Quattrocchi's accounts
have been defrozen'January 17,
2006NEW DELHI: The Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS) of Britain has informed the CBI that the accounts of Italian
businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, having nearly Rs 21 crore, have been defrozen.

According to CBI sources,
a communication was received from the CPS to this effect informing them
about the decision of the British High Court of defreezing the accounts.

The communication from the
CPS follows a request by the CBI on Monday to the British prosecution service
seeking details about the status of the two bank accounts and also conveying
to them the order of the Supreme Court asking the agency to communicate
to the UK authorities for maintaining a status quo on the two accounts.

The British authorities had
frozen the two accounts -- 5A5151516L and 5A5151516M -- with BSIAG Bank
London, having three million Euros and one million dollars respectively
-- in July 2003 and the CBI had claimed that the money could be part of
kickback allegedly received by Quattrocchi in the Rs 64 crore Bofors payoff
case.

However, the CBI communicated
to the CPS in December last year that the agency had so far not been able
to link the money with the Bofors kickbacks, a move which eventually led
to defreezing of the accounts besides creating a political uproar in the
country.

Govt denies giving any
clean chit to Quattrocchi

NEW DELHI: The Indian government
on Monday denied it had given a clean chit to Italian businessman Ottavio
Quattrocchi, accused in the Bofors payoffs scandal, saying it had only
furnished Britain's information on the basis of which his two London bank
accounts were revived.

"No clean chit has been given
to anyone in any case. Confusion has been spread in this regard," Minister
of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal told the BBC Hindi service.

The British authorities "had
sought information on...whether any charge has been proved till now. It
is our compulsion to answer a query on the basis of facts as they exist
on the day information has been sought. How can one say that a clean chit
has been given to anyone?" Jaiswal maintained.

Law Minister H R Bharadwaj
and Minister of State for Personnel Suresh Pachauri have been under fire
from the opposition since it was revealed last week they had facilitated
the London visit of Additional Solicitor General B Dutta to inform the
Crown Prosecution Service that there was no evidence to show that the kickbacks
paid by Bofors to secure an Indian Army order for field guns had been deposited
in Quattrocchi's accounts.

Dutta had visited London
Dec 22 and Quattrocchi's bank accounts were revived January 11.

On Monday, the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) that has been prosecuting the Bofors case, attempted
to take the heat off the government by saying it had recommended that Quattrocchi's
accounts be revived.

According to Jaiswal, "information
sought by the British authorities was with regard to money frozen in British
banks. It was asked whether any proof had been found (about the money being
part of the Bofors kickbacks) and should this money continue to be frozen.

"The status as it existed
on the day of giving information has been conveyed to the British authorities.
No clean chit has been given to anyone in any manner, neither has anything
been said on whether Quattrocchi is innocent or guilty," Jaiswal said.

Asked why the government
prevented the CBI from sending its representative along with the additional
solicitor general, Jaiswal retorted: "I think questions should not be raised
on everything.

"If the government does not
respond on time, your criticism would be that we sleep over matters, if
we respond then the criticism is of undue haste.

"Criticism in a democracy
is a matter of right, but everything should not be seen with suspicion,"
he said.

Government says no evidence
against QuattrocchiNEW DELHI: Government on
Thursday said CBI has found no evidence against Italian businessman Ottavio
Quattrocchi in the Bofors payoff case and this was conveyed to the British
Government.

Law Minister HR Bhardwaj
said the Crown Prosecution and the British government had over the past
two years sought evidence against Quattrocchi.

The British government had
frozen Quattrocchi's bank accounts in United Kingdom and offshore islands
on India's request three years ago.

"The Crown prosecution had
sought the status of the investigation and we have conveyed to them the
recent rulings of the High Court rejecting the case against the Hinduja
brothers," Bhardwaj said. Asked whether the government would not appeal
against the unfreezing of the accounts, he said "CBI has given the details
sought by the Crown Prosecution and it is upto them." Italian businessman Ottavio
Quattrocchi, against whom an Interpol Red Corner warrant was issued, continues
to be a wanted criminal and the CBI would make every effort to extradite
him and bring him before the court of law to face charges. "Quattrocchi is wanted
by the CBI for the case of cheating and criminal conspiracy for which a
chargesheet has already been filed in a designated court here," a CBI spokesman
said.The spokesman said the Interpol
Red Corner notice against Quattrocchi was still valid. The CBI had chargesheeted
various people, including Hinduja brothers, in the Rs 64 crore Bofors payoff
case. However, the Hindujas appeared before the court and were finally
discharged by the Delhi High Court last year. Quattrocchi has played
a "hide-and-seek" game and managed to remain elusive from the trial prompting
the investigating agency to issue a Interpol Red Corner notice against
him. CBI sources maintained
that the agency did not have any substantial proof to link two million
pounds (three million Euro and one million dollar) stashed in two bank
accounts of Quattrocchi with the Bofors Payoff case. The CBI, which decided
to make a submission to Crown Prosecution Service in November last year,
had conveyed the decision finally in December to the British authorities
that it did not have any evidence to link the money as Bofors proceed.